Chapter 946: Zhang Yu, Just How Far Can Those Eyes of Yours See?

“Under the condition of unpaid overtime, everyone has achieved overtime freedom so the company will naturally squeeze the employees’ time to the absolute limit.”

“After all, lower-tier cultivatiors are the most cunning. If a company wants to deal with the lower-tier cultivatiors, it must be even more cunning and wicked than them to drive the company’s development instead of being dragged down.”

“But the lower-tier cultivatiors naturally won’t endure this silently; they will resist.”

Venerable Serpent Lust knew that in the face of these continuously increasing overtime hours, and in the face of this massive crisis trending toward 24-hour work, the lower-tier cultivatiors would absolutely not sit and wait for death.

“These lower-tier cultivatiors are the best at playing the victim. On the surface, they talk about doing it for the Immortal Emperor, for the sect, for the enterprise, and for the company. Usually, they appear to be full of Sect Nature, but when push comes to shove… once their Aspiration for the Immortal Dao is violated, even if they have to face the Immortal Emperor, they would dare to risk their money and their lives.”

“And what I will do next is make use of their resistance.”

Venerable Serpent Lust understood that, normally speaking, under the environment of the new Law Edicts, companies and employees would often engage in rounds of wrestling to adapt to the environment and fight for their own interests.

“Just like when the ‘4-hour workday’ and ‘Paid Overtime’ were introduced in the past, change inevitably brings growing pains. After rounds of wrestling, the companies and employees that cannot adapt will be eliminated, and all walks of life will form a new set of working hours and salary relationships, reaching a new dynamic balance.”

“During this process, whether the fierce struggle between the two sides is earth-shattering or as gentle as a breeze, and how much turmoil and loss it ultimately causes, will depend on the cultivation and methods of the upper-tier cultivators presiding over it…”

Venerable Serpent Lust knew in his heart that the upper-tier cultivator presiding this time was Zhang Yu, and what was being tested was exactly Zhang Yu’s cultivation and methods.

“And what I need to do is to increase the intensity of the struggle and wrestling between the two sides this time.”

He understood extremely well in his heart that the legal reform, pushed forward by the Myriad Laws Immortal Emperor, was already imperative.

But if Zhang Yu couldn’t control the situation during the implementation process… triggering fierce struggles, subsequent industry turmoil, shaking the sect, affecting the cultivation growth of the Immortals and Immortal Emperors, and even impacting the Dao Lineage Struggle of the various factions, then Zhang Yu would be replaced and the plan would be suspended.

This was exactly Venerable Serpent Lust’s goal.

And now, within the Myriad Laws Sect, especially in the numerous minor realms of Kunxu’s 16th layer, the expanding scope of the frozen Law Edicts had led to more and more people either facing increased working hours or unemployment, sparking growing dissatisfaction towards Zhang Yu and the freezing of the Law Edicts.

“I originally thought we wouldn’t have to pay overtime fees anymore, but working so much unpaid overtime every day means I can’t take on any side jobs, nor do I have time to cultivate. It would have been better to just pay the overtime fees like before.”

“Yeah, at least we didn’t have the money to pay for 24 hours of overtime, so we still had time every day to work side jobs and earn money…”

“In the past, if they dared to make me pay for more than three hours of overtime, I’d just quit. Who the hell goes to work to lose money? Now they dare to make me work 24 hours? If you sever my immortal path, at worst I just won’t work anymore (for every post you delete, I’ll post ten more)!”

“The threat of 24-hour work is right before our eyes, and the Unemployment Tide is spilling over from every industry, glaring at us like a tiger watching its prey…”

“Zhang Yu perverts the law for personal gain, using his own lower realm Soul Cultivators to impersonate upper realm Soul Cultivators, which will accelerate the spread of the Unemployment Tide…”

“The Unemployment Tide has spread to our side. So many unemployed people are coming here to find work, and it’s getting more and more fiercely competitive… What the hell is that animal Zhang doing!”

Venerable Serpent Lust could see that similar remarks were endlessly emerging in the Spirit Realm and the Dharma Realm.

Besides this, Venerable Serpent Lust also sensed many more substantial acts of resistance.

A large number of cultivators who were corporate employees set up signature posts in the Spirit Realm. Using Spirit Realm Techniques, they achieved a resonance of wills, firming their resolve to oppose him. Like layers of ideological barriers, they strove to block the spread of Zhang Yu’s Law Edict True Domain.

There were also employees who couldn’t stand the 24-hour work. To them, since they had to work 24 hours anyway, they might as well lower their efficiency and slack off. One after another, using the excuse of fulfilling their Dual Cultivation Obligation, they engaged in paid dual cultivation while at work, using one law to counter another law, and working at low efficiency.

Some cultivators, no longer caring about work efficiency, used their Spirit Division Magic to idle at their posts, slacking off while their external incarnations took on part-time jobs to earn money.

“Below, they slack off, idle, and secretly moonlight; above, they monitor, enforce performance metrics, and disconnect them from the Spirit Realm…”

Venerable Serpent Lust said with a cold sneer, “If the employees resist, the company suppresses them. If this confrontation continues to escalate without anyone stopping it, gradually some people will… give up on working.”

“After all, as long as the company fails to provide sufficient benefits and the employees see no possibility of climbing the Immortal Dao through work, they naturally won’t work.”

“Just like when Paid Overtime first appeared, some companies forced their employees to do 10 or even 20 hours of Paid Overtime, causing people to lose money every day and take out loans just to go to work. The direct result was that no one went to work for them anymore.”

“And if this martial duel continues to escalate, that would mean… a strike.”

Hearing these words from Venerable Serpent Lust, the memory of a world-shaking tribulation from the Myriad Laws Sect’s past surfaced in Zhu Yan’s mind, causing his projection to pause slightly.

“Striking… is too dangerous. Back then, Ying Xintian was known as the Number One Immortal Under the Emperor. Later, he led a trillion lower-tier cultivatiors to set up the Halting Myriad Industries Great Formation. He linked his own magic power, Immortal Coins, and will with those of the trillion lower-tier cultivatiors, sharing the minimum consumption and lowest expenses together. This caused all industries inside and outside the sect to grind to a halt, bringing more than half of Kunxu to a near standstill…”

Seemingly recalling that earth-shattering great tribulation, Zhu Yan took a deep breath and said, “Under this tribulation, the ten sects were shaken and the sect policies were disrupted. It could be said to have harmed Kunxu, harmed the Emperors, harmed the sects, and harmed the Immortals. Back then, it was listed as the worst of the Ten Great Evils of Kunxu.”

“At least there are still people issuing warnings about tax evasion, but as for the matter of striking… do you see anyone who still dares to speak of it? Who dares to mention it? Even that Halting Myriad Industries Great Formation was listed as a taboo, and all records of it in both the Dharma Realm and the Spirit Realm were completely erased.”

“You absolutely must not get involved in it.”

Venerable Serpent Lust nodded and said, “Senior, for such a massive matter as a strike, I naturally do not have the guts, nor would the higher-ups allow the situation to develop to that point.”

“What I want is not an actual strike, but to shake the sect, making the higher-ups feel the threat of a strike so they realize they can no longer allow Zhang Yu to run wild…”

Zhu Yan said, “As long as you know what you are doing in your heart.”

With that said, his projection dissipated.

Seeing this scene, Venerable Serpent Lust thought to himself: “Hmph, are you so scared just hearing the word strike? But it’s also normal…”

Although a trace of nervousness rose in Venerable Serpent Lust’s heart, making him feel bursts of trepidation, thinking of the benefits promised by Supreme Truth, he still gritted his teeth and made up his mind.

“Zhang Yu! Myriad Laws Immortal Emperor! You want to break my Law Edict and destroy my cultivation, how can I just sit and wait for death?!”

“As long as I help Immortal Venerable Supreme Truth win this game, I, Venerable Serpent Lust, might not be without a chance to climb to the peak of the Immortal Dao, and secure a place in the future Celestial Monster General Trend.”

To fight for that one-in-a-million chance, Venerable Serpent Lust chose to risk it all.

With a mere thought from Venerable Serpent Lust, countless serpent shadows sleeping deep in the Spirit Realm, located outside the sect, awakened one after another.

After they were born by Venerable Serpent Lust, they were sacrificed one by one, becoming Serpent Souls frozen and slumbering in the depths of the Spirit Realm all year round.

Their information was concealed, hidden in the external sects, just so they could be mobilized across sects when necessary, avoiding detection within the Myriad Laws Sect.

Now that they had awakened, numerous Serpent Souls, under the control of Venerable Serpent Lust, released information to countless corners of the 16th layer of the Spirit Realm.

In an instant, an information network spanning the Ten Great Sects surfaced before Venerable Serpent Lust.

Venerable Serpent Lust knew that this was a network formed by the monsterfolk within the various sects. Although they were in different sects, their shared Monsterfolk Bloodline and their identification with the future Celestial Monster General Trend had brought them together.

Especially within this vast network, there was also the assistance of the Supreme Truth Immortal Clan, mingling with the Supreme Truth Immortal Clan that similarly spanned across the ten sects.

By connecting to this vast network at this moment, Venerable Serpent Lust was not actively colluding with anyone, but rather providing some channels to the lower-tier cultivatiors on the 16th layer of the Myriad Laws Sect, bringing external sect forces into this struggle to add more fuel to the fire for Zhang Yu.

Thus, not long after, the conflict surrounding working hours became increasingly fierce.

Some employees cultivated the Substitute Magic bought from the Celestial Monster Sect, creating substitutes specifically for slacking off and selling them in large quantities, severely slowing down the company’s production capacity.

Some employees rented low-quality Soul Cultivators from the Netherworld Palace to manipulate their physical bodies for low-efficiency work, while their own consciousness descended cross-sect to other sects to work and earn money.

Other employees learned the Immortal Armaments Bureau’s Bionic Flesh-Machine Technology, leasing out the performance and computing power of their entire Bionics, only using the absolute lowest performance to maintain their own jobs.

Faced with the endless stream of resistance from the employees, the major enterprises and companies were naturally furious.

“These are no longer ordinary employees; they are criminals who collude with external sect forces, hinder enterprise development, and destroy the sect’s economy! We must strike back hard!”

Consequently, some companies set up a great formation within their office buildings and required employees to hand over their physical bodies for unified management within the formation.

Other companies forced employees to purchase High-Intelligence Artifact Spirit services to further improve work efficiency.

Even more companies contacted the Former Days Graveyard, requesting to replace upper realm Soul Cultivators with sufficiently cheap lower realm Soul Cultivators.

The numerous employees found this unacceptable and similarly launched counterattacks.

Some joined forces to cast Tax Audit Talismans to investigate every flow of funds. If any magical artifacts, Bionics, or equipment purchased by a company were slightly misappropriated, showing signs of tax evasion, they would be reported, prompting the Tax Enforcement Army to descend from the sky and shake the 16th layer.

Under the continuous struggles, the conflict between the two sides intensified, even attracting the attention of the major Dao lineages and the intervention of External Sect Forces.

The repeated turmoil also caused the productivity of various companies to decline, revenues to drop, and stock prices to fall.

And the companies’ losses gradually passed on to the upper echelons, triggering the dissatisfaction of many upper-tier cultivators.

For a time, all kinds of documents criticizing and reporting Zhang Yu flew into the Immortal Ascension Hall like snowflakes.

---

Inner Enclosure Grotto-Heaven.

Zhao Tianxing said worriedly, “Minister, another whistleblowing letter has been sent over.”

Zhang Yu nodded slightly and said lightly, “Alright, I know. In the future, as long as the impact of this kind of thing isn’t particularly huge, you don’t need to make a special trip to tell me.”

After saying that, Zhang Yu shifted his attention back to the documents in front of him.

Right now, what Zhang Yu was browsing through were the exact records of the repeated turmoil and struggles caused right after the ‘4-hour workday’ and ‘Paid Overtime’ were first rolled out in the past.

Immortal Slayer sighed, “Every reform is a new distribution of interests.”

“The fact that the lower realm was able to gradually adjust to a 24-hour workday was the result of layers of maneuvering, ultimately reaching an outcome acceptable to both sides.”

“The same was true for the previous ‘4-hour workday’ and ‘Paid Overtime’ in the upper realm. Initially, enterprises and companies desperately forced employees to work overtime. Naturally, the employees could not accept this limitlessly, nor could they bear the price of having their immortal path severed, so they would simply choose to quit jobs that required too much Paid Overtime.”

“After rounds of games between both sides, a dynamic balance was gradually formed, combining various factors such as the number of job seekers, employee income, labor costs, work efficiency, and market revenue…”

“And now, freezing these two Law Edicts has brought about a drastic change to the Immortal Dao environment. A new game will naturally commence, drawing both upper-tier and lower-tier cultivators to compete for Immortal Dao resources.”

Fu Ji commented, “It’s just like the great powers of ancient times who could change the world with a single thought. Spirit Veins would shift, Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands became singular, and middle and lower layer cultivators would wage massive wars to fight for benefits.”

“As for now, it’s exactly the same. The great powers above change the world with a single thought, altering the operation of the rules within the sect and causing a drastic upheaval in the Immortal Dao environment. The middle and lower layer cultivators are likewise starting martial duels for the sake of benefits.”

Zhang Yu glanced at the data in the Spirit Realm and Dharma Realm, sighing in his heart, “In this new Immortal Dao environment, everyone wants to act from their own perspective to seek benefits for themselves.”

“What the Immortal Emperor wants is to sweep away the Law Edicts; he can tolerate a certain degree of short-term pain, but it must improve in the long run.”

“And the majority of the lower-tier cultivatiors, in order to avoid paying for overtime in the future, can endure unpaid overtime for a period of time, just seeking a few more chances to climb the Immortal Dao.”

“The enterprises hope to take this opportunity to increase the average working hours per capita, reduce the number of employees, lower overall labor costs, and further improve profits, allowing their leaders to go further on the path of the Immortal Dao.”

Immortal Slayer agreed, “If the Martial Duel between the two sides is allowed to continue escalating, it will cause turmoil in the sect and reduce the profits of the upper-tier cultivators.

“As one of the leaders of this reform, what we need to do is make the situation reach a new balance as soon as possible and complete the reform… with the lowest possible losses.”

“Actually, to the Immortal Emperor, as long as the wealth stays in our own pot, he can accept whether the companies or the employees earn more within the sect. He might even prefer that the lower-tier cultivatiors earn a bit more… perhaps it is what he hopes to see, allowing him to walk more steadily and safely on the path of the Immortal Dao.”

Fu Ji coldly snorted, “Zhang Yu, helping those lower-tier cultivatiors is too troublesome. The fastest way to resolve this matter is still to help the corporations.”

“In this struggle, the corporations already hold the advantage. If we step in to assist them and swiftly carry out the suppression of those resisting lower-tier cultivatiors, we will inevitably reach a new balance much faster.”

Immortal Slayer said, “Help the corporations? Then how many people will lose their jobs, and how many will suffer a massive drop in income? The entire consumer market…”

Fu Ji said, “Are these lower cultivation poor ghosts the only ones who can spend money? The only ones who know how to spend money?”

“Under the Aspiration for the Immortal Dao, who would save money? Who wouldn’t know how to spend it? Let the leaders earn more, and the leaders can spend more just the same! It can equally form a new consumer market, and even take a high-end route.”

Immortal Slayer cursed, “Then a trillion lower-tier cultivatiors will oppose us! The expansion of Zhang Yu’s Law Edict True Domain will be slowed down!”

The Sect Examination Clone coldly snorted and said, “How long can it be delayed? How long can unemployed people live? How can they oppose us when they are dead? Right now, someone is pulling the strings behind the scenes, wanting to add fuel to the fire to hinder this reform. The most urgent task is to share the Immortal Emperor’s burdens and ease the situation as quickly as possible.”

“Let the unemployed take another hit, and we will bear the infamy. If the expansion of the Law Edicts is slow, then so be it. In short, we cannot let the Immortal Emperor lose money. As long as the Immortal Emperor is satisfied, our path of the Immortal Dao will naturally be smooth.”

“Absurd!” Immortal Slayer cursed. “Merely enabling the Immortal Emperor will only accelerate the arrival of the final doomsday. We assist the Immortal Emperors not for their progress, but for ours, so that we can catch up to them faster…”

The Sect Examination Clone objected, “That won’t work. Since when do you help the employees instead of the enterprise? Protecting the enterprises is protecting the foundation of the sect. Under the Aspiration for the Immortal Dao, these employees will only act for their own interests, constantly demanding benefits and taking any advantage they can get. Do you know how much internal friction they’ve created for the sect’s operations? If it weren’t for the Immortal Emperor wholeheartedly protecting the enterprises, the sect would have been dragged to ruin by those lower-tier cultivators long ago.”

The Auspicious God chimed in, “Exactly, exactly! As long as we also join in to help the enterprises suppress them, the employees will have absolutely no bargaining chips!”

Along with the series of arguments in Zhang Yu’s mind, the Sect Examination Clone, Fu Ji, and the Auspicious God chimed in one after another, effectively beating the Immortal Slayer into a steady retreat in the debate.

But right under Fu Ji’s hopeful gaze, Zhang Yu was heard saying, “The employees… have a bargaining chip.”

Fu Ji asked, “What bargaining chip?”

Zhang Yu replied, “Aren’t I… their bargaining chip?”

“I will represent them, negotiate with the company on their behalf, and help them fight for benefits, while they will provide me with support in terms of Law Edicts.”

Hearing this, Fu Ji let out a long sigh in her heart: “Why… why must this guy Zhang Yu always choose such a thankless path? He’s completely wasted all my teaching.”

The Herald God had been silently listening to their conversation from start to finish, thinking to himself, “Fu Ji has always wanted to change Zhang Yu. On the surface… she is arguing with the Immortal Slayer, but in reality… isn’t she also arguing with Zhang Yu?”

“And Zhang Yu’s choice, which seems thankless and like a long detour, is actually a true shortcut.”

The Herald God recalled the overall situation in his mind and thought to himself, “The Immortal Emperor, corporations, employees… If things are done according to Fu Ji’s method, it would be a win-win for the Immortal Emperor and the corporations, while the employees would be the sole losers. It seems like the fastest way to solve the trouble, but… what about the future?”

“Zhang Yu wants to freeze more than just one or two Law Edicts. The first batch this year alone has 17, and in twenty years there will be another pile, which will also include the numerous Law Edicts of the Tribulation Crossing Stage, as well as a third batch in fifty years…”

“Once Zhang Yu suppresses the numerous lower cultivation employees this time and people remember it, won’t the remaining employees resist when he freezes other Law Edicts in the future? What about people in other industries and other strata? I’m afraid they would be filled with vigilance and resistance against Zhang Yu right from the start.”

“Therefore, if Zhang Yu does this, he might be able to solve the problem very quickly at the beginning, but the path will become increasingly difficult in the future. It will only cause his Law Edicts to face the opposition of countless people outside the True Domain, continuously slowing down his expansion speed.”

Herald God silently pondered Zhang Yu’s thoughts in his heart: “And if this time he can achieve a win-win-win situation for the Immortal Emperor, the enterprises, and the employees, it might seem troublesome and difficult at the beginning, but as long as he persists, his future efforts to continue freezing Law Edicts and expanding Law Edicts will become smoother and smoother, and the resistance he encounters will also decrease… Is this your true thought?”

“Zhang Yu, just how far have your eyes seen?”

Just as Herald God was thinking to himself, Immortal Slayer excitedly said: “This is exactly what we should do. Honoring the name of the Myriad Laws Divine Sword, wielding the Ten-Billion Flying Sword, and exercising the power to moderate Myriad Laws, this time we can even leverage the momentum of a trillion lower-tier cultivators. If we don’t even dare to negotiate with the enterprises, how can we change Kunxu in the future?”

“However, for the first step, we must first clear up the smears against us.”

Everyone understood in their hearts that what Immortal Slayer was talking about was exactly the matter regarding Wang Hai and the others.

Immortal Slayer was heard saying: “What must be severed must be severed. Even if we must execute Ma Su in tears, this matter has to be settled once and for all. Zhang Yu… this is no time to let old sentiment get in the way.” ¹

Fu Ji thought to herself: “Who is Ma Su?”

The Herald God’s heart stirred. “Are they going to deal with Wang Hai and the others? Hmph, Zhang Yu… you really couldn’t keep up the act anymore, could you? How could your so-called old feelings ever compare to your own future on the Immortal Dao?”

A moment later, Zhang Yu had already summoned Zhao Tianxing and asked, “How is your investigation into Teacher Wang Hai and the others going?”

Zhao Tianxing said nervously, “Teacher Wang Hai and the others were unintentionally dragged into the counterfeiting case, but the people who contacted them used identities that have already been cancelled. We can’t trace them…

“However, there is no issue with their own identities. They were brought in as Soul Cultivators, and as long as they maintain their Soul Cultivator state, they can continue to work.”

After Zhao Tianxing gave Zhang Yu a detailed report, Zhang Yu fell silent for a while before saying, “Make preparations and gather Wang Hai and the others. I will… revive them at my own expense during a livestream, and then deport them all from the sect.”

Zhao Tianxing was shaken upon hearing this. He secretly sighed in his heart that after this… Wang Hai and the others would likely never have another chance to enter the sect. It could be said that their immortal paths were completely severed, leaving them with no hope for the rest of their lives.

Immortal Slayer, however, offered high praise upon hearing these words, “Good! In ancient times, there was the tearful execution of Ma Su, and today there is you, Zhang Yu, reviving Wang Hai at your own expense. For the greater good of Kunxu, this is exactly how it should be done.”

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